Another year of high school sports will begin in a little more than a month from now, and a culture war issue could become an issue in prep athletics thanks to a bill that became law in 2022.
Last year, the Louisiana Legislature passed--and Governor John Bel Edwards allowed to become law without signing--a bill that prohibits transgender females from playing girls' high school sports. However, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association's policy, which predates the law by several years, allows transgender athletes to participate under if they meet certain criteria.
One legal analyst says, that could put the organization and the group at odds with state officials.
"The LHSAA has to comply with the state law," WWL All Things Legal host Doug Sunseri says.
According to Sunseri, the LHSAA doesn't have the authority to override state law unless they challenge the law in court and win. He says if the LHSAA or its member schools don't comply with the law, state officials could attempt to bring civil action against them.
"Either a district attorney or the attorney general can go in and institute a court case to get injunctive relief saying no, you can't do that, or they're ineligible," Sunseri said. "An opponent who's playing against a transgender athlete could also file."
While the law bans males who have sex changes from playing sports, the law allows females who transition to male to play boys' sports. Does that wrinkle put the law at risk of a legal challenge?
"They would have a foothold to challenge that," Sunseri said of anyone who wanted to raise that issue with the courts. "Now whether they prevail or not, that would be a basis of the biological differences as to whether that would apply, so they would have more of a factual inquiry."
Questions about the law may be moot because, so far, no transgender athletes have petitioned to play high school sports in Louisiana. Because of this, Sunseri says it's highly unlikely we'll see the law or the LHSAA's policy be challenged.
"I think it may be an acute sitution where it may occur. I don't see it holisitically changing the dynamics of athletics. I think they may have an acute occasion where that may apply and could be an issue."
We reached out to LHSAA officials, who pointed us to their position statement on transgender athletes. That statement, in part, says, "The LHSAA believes that gender equity is more than being in compliance with the law. It is a spirit, a personal ethic. It is commitment to do what is right and fair for all student-athletes."
We also called the law's author, Senator Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton) and left messages on her cell phone. She has not yet returned our calls.
